Purple
by Beans On Toast
Summary: Supergirl has a run in with the NCPD whilst on patrol that brings Maggie crashing back into Alex's life. Danvers sisters centric with some Sanvers. Set sometime in Season 3.
1. Chapter 1

Kara was worried, there had been a sinking feeling in her stomach all day that she just couldn't shake. The summer heatwave had meant that she hadn't been able to wear her uniform under her work clothes all week and she was itching to get out of her summer dress and into her super suit so that Supergirl would be ready to respond to any problems straight away. Kara had managed to ignore the weight in the pit of her stomach long enough to finish up her latest article quickly and despite Snapper's extra grumpy temperament, she had managed to leave CatCo early.

Kara slipped unnoticed down the corridors of the DEO and into the locker room where she quickly changed out of the flimsy summer dress and strappy heels into her super suit. She let out a deep sigh as she let her hair out of the loose bun she had been wearing and slipped her glasses into her bag before stepping back out into the corridor.

The command centre was quiet but brimming with agents. Analysts were sat at every computer tapping away at keyboards, but it wasn't the familiar frantic banging of the keys that usually accompanied chasing a lead. In fact, Kara could have sworn that the young analyst in the far corner had been playing a game on his computer before he had noticed her approaching and quickly clicked to something else.

Winn was leaning back on his chair, twirling a red vine in one hand whilst another hung limply from his mouth, as he lazily scrolled through some data on his screen.

"It's quiet," Kara dropped her bag on Winn's desk, "Where is everyone?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Winn was startled and nearly choked on the candy in his mouth and Kara laughed as he sat up straight and coughed.

"Alex is doing some spur of the moment training with some of the newer agents," Winn told her, still spluttering. "And J'onn is doing some paperwork, something about an audit."

"And what are you doing?" Kara leaned closer to scrutinise the computer screen.

"I am searching through some intelligence data but I haven't found anything of interest so far."

"So, there's nothing I can do?"

Winn shook his head, "Unless you want to give those rookies a real-life alien to practice on."

"But I'm bored," Kara whined.

"Are you finished at CatCo for the day?"

"Yep."

"Then why don't you go out and relax, take in the sun."

"Everyone I know is still at work."

Winn shrugged and offered her a red vine but didn't offer any further advice. Kara took the candy and took a bite, pulling the remainder roughly from her mouth and frowning.

"What am I supposed to do?" she chewed loudly.

"As long as it doesn't involve trying to set Alex up on any more dates, I don't care."

"She told you about that?" Kara scowled and pushed the rest of the red vine into her mouth.

"Yep," Winn nodded and took another piece of candy. "Who do you think bore the brunt of her anger the next day at work?"

"Sorry," Kara apologised sheepishly.

"Why don't you go out and patrol for a bit? If I hear anything that needs Supergirl I'll let you know."

"Like the old days?" Kara smiled brightly.

"Yeah, I guess," Winn shrugged and went back to his computer.

It took a lot of self-control for Kara to walk calmly to the balcony. Once her feet had carried her to the balcony she shot herself high into the sky, using the lingering clouds to shield herself from view. The summer had brought the inevitable increase in visitors to National City and Kara didn't want to be distracted by tourists looking for photo opportunities with a superhero.

It didn't take long for something to catch her attention, a tense but familiar voice in amongst the noise of the city - Detective Maggie Sawyer.

Kara flew towards the voice until she could see the detective. She kept her distance and hovered out of sight as she tried to assess the situation.

 _"You never look before you leap."_

There was smoke everywhere but no signs of any flames. Maggie and her NCPD colleagues had an alien surrounded in the busy parking lot of the mall. The alien was vaguely human looking but covered in scales which seemed to be giving off a purple hue. Citizens were fleeing on foot in every direction creating a scene of chaos. The alien didn't appear to have a weapon but he seemed to be ready to put up a fight.

Kara slowly lowered herself to the ground at the edge of the car park and carefully approached the standoff on foot.

"There's nowhere to go, let's end this now," one of the officers was shouting over the noise.

"That's what you think," the alien whispered dully under its breath, Kara was sure that she was the only one that could hear him.

Only when she reached the wall of officers that were surrounding him, did the alien notice Supergirl. He met her eye and smiled before he bowed his head and his scales began to glow, temporarily distracting everyone. The alien then lunged at the nearest NCPD jacket clad officer.

"Sawyer!"

"Detective!"

"Maggie!"

Everyone shouted variations of Maggie's name at once, but only Supergirl was fast enough to reach her in time.

Kara managed to push Maggie out of the way, only to be dragged into the tight grip of the alien herself. Kara struggled against the strong hand but every movement she made only increased the alien's hold on her until his arm was wrapped completely around her body, restricting her ability to take a breath. As the amount of oxygen in her brain began to diminish she saw the alien grab hold of Maggie again, as soon as his hand made contact with her there was a bright flash of light.

Pain was everywhere. Her ears were ringing with the screams of onlookers and what sounded like thunder. There was a burning pain in her chest and her right leg felt as if it was being ripped in two. The pain slowly turned to a numbness that crept up her leg and overtook her whole body until it reached her head. For a while there was nothing but white noise and darkness.

She couldn't see Maggie but as the white noise began to fade she could faintly hear her heart beating slowly. Kara desperately tried to activate her x-ray vision to locate Maggie only for the whole world to light up again, temporarily blinding her and forcing her to screw her eyes shut against the insult.

Everything became purple behind her eyelids. It felt like she was falling, her body being thrown in all directions at the same time as she passed through every shade of purple imaginable. No matter how far she fell, Maggie was always just out of reach, limp and still, but also falling into the unknown.

She didn't feel herself stop falling, she didn't feel her body hit the ground or notice that she was rolling until she hit something, someone. Breathing became a struggle as she fought to get her eyes to open. Even once she had pried her eyelids apart, she had to blink a couple of times to get rid of the purple fog that hung over everything.

With what felt like all of her strength, Kara managed to sit up, only then did she feel the pain that shouldn't have been possible, gripping her thigh in waves and radiating down her leg. When she looked for the source of her discomfort, she found a small purple ball which was covered in spines, a couple of which were embedded in her leg. She used her cape to protect her hand and pulled it out, holding in a scream of agony. Only once she pulled it out did her ears stop ringing and she could hear the other heartbeat next to her.

Maggie was face down in the dirt of what appeared to be a soccer field. In the rush to check her over Kara dropped the spiky ball into the mud.

"Maggie?" Kara shouted, rolling the detective onto her back.

"Maggie?" she shook Maggie's shoulder as she tried to assess her injuries.

There was a small line of blood from Maggie's nose but Kara couldn't see any other injuries as she scanned down her body with her x-ray vision, until she got to her stomach. Just under her bulletproof vest there was a purple spiky ball, just like the one she had ripped out of her own leg.

"Maggie?" she shook the detective again. When she got no response, she pulled the ball with her cape and then lifted her shirt to check the puncture wound. Kara dropped the purple ball in surprise as she watched the small puncture marks just below Maggie's belly button quickly fade away.

"Maggie?" she called again, hoping that removing the purple thing would have improved her condition.

It hadn't, Maggie was still unrousable.

She tore her eyes away from the detective to search the area, desperate for anyone who could help her. No one was around and she wasn't entirely sure where she was. Nothing familiar stood out in the landscape.

"Maggie?" she tried again as she struggled to listen for the city. "I'm going to take you to the DEO," she told her, just in case Maggie could still hear her.

She knelt down and easily lifted Maggie into her arms, pulling her head into her chest instead of letting it hang limply. Stumbling a little, she stood up and checked the area again before leaping into the air with Maggie.


	2. Chapter 2

"Good attempt," Alex held her hand out to the young agent that she had just thrown onto the padded flooring. "But you need to work on your foot work." She patted the agent on the back as Vasquez burst into the training area.

"Danvers, we need you in the command centre," she blurted out, eyes briefly roaming over the rest of the agents.

Alex didn't ask, she just followed Vasquez out of the room and then overtook her as they jogged to the command centre. Winn had an earpiece in his hand and handed it to her solemnly.

"It's Supergirl," he told Alex as she shoved the comm into her ear.

"Supergirl?"

"Alex?" Kara's voice filled her ear. She sounded distant and scared.

"Supergirl, what's wrong?"

"Alex?" Kara's voice was strained.

"Supergirl, are you hurt?" Alex ran to the nearest computer and pulled up a map with Kara's tracking information flashing across it.

"Alex?" Kara was breathing heavily; the sound muffled her voice, as did the wind being picked up by the comm.

"Can she hear me?" Alex called to Winn who nodded uncertainly in response.

"Kara, talk to me," Alex demanded as she turned back to the map on the computer screen.

"She won't wake up."

"Who won't wake up?" Alex tried to hide the fear in her voice. "Kara, what's going on?"

"It's Maggie. She won't open her eyes."

There wasn't time to ask what had happened, for a second Alex couldn't even speak.

"Has she got a pulse?" Alex finally managed to get out and the words seemed to hang in the air.

Alex looked around the command centre desperately looking for some reassurance but Winn and Vasquez both looked worried as only the sound of the wind came through their earpieces.

"Yeah," Kara's voice finally reappeared in her ear and Alex let out a shaky breath. "I can hear her heartbeat."

"Bring her to the DEO, I'll prepare the medical team." Alex began to head to the medical bay.

"I don't know where we are."

Alex stopped and turned back to the computer and watched the tracking signal move across the map, brows furrowed.

"Kara, you need to head north." Alex frowned as she took in the information on the screen.

"I don't know…" Kara sounded disorientated.

"Turn right," Alex commanded and watched the tracking dot change course on the screen. "A little bit more," she told her. "That's it, keep heading in a straight line, you're about forty miles away."

"Alex…" Kara was cut off by an earful of static. Alex grimaced but kept the earpiece in her ear.

"Try to get her back," she called to Winn as she stalked towards the medical bay.

She stood at the door and shouted her orders of what to prepare before she jogged back to the command centre where J'onn was now being briefed by Winn.

"Alex, what is going on?" J'onn moved towards Alex who was stooped back over the computer with Supergirl's tracking information.

"Maggie is hurt, Kara is bringing her in now." Alex didn't look up from the screen.

"What happened? Why were they so far out of the city?" J'onn leaned over the computer.

"I don't know, we lost the comm line to Supergirl and we've not got it back yet." Alex began to pace the command centre.

"Guys, I've got something," Winn called to them, "The NCPD were involved in a standoff with an alien downtown," he informed them as they headed towards his desk. "They are reporting that he made Detective Sawyer and Supergirl vanish into thin air and then tried to flee the scene."

"Did they get him?"

"Yeah, they have him in custody," Winn told them as he pulled up a video on the screen. "It's already on the internet."

Every agent that was now assembled in the command centre watched the cell phone footage of the NCPD standoff. Alex flinched as she saw the alien grab Maggie and a split second later Supergirl reached her, the cameraperson stumbled slightly and by the time they had refocused on the action, both Maggie and Supergirl were disappearing in a bright flash of purple light.

"Winn, get me the NCPD on the phone, I want that alien in our custody ASAP," J'onn barked at Winn as the video ended.

"I've never seen an alien do that. Are we sure that wasn't a metahuman?" Vasquez offered.

"That light does look similar to the interdimensional portals created by that device that The Flash gave Kara," J'onn mused.

"That's what I thought. I'm already running a search for similar incidents," Winn told him as he went back to tapping on his keyboard.

"When did this happen?" Alex's voice was hoarse.

"Just under an hour ago."

"Then where have they been since then?"

Alex began pacing the command centre, eyes flitting to the computer with the tracking map. Supergirl was still on the right course.

"What's taking so long?" she mumbled to herself in frustration. She knew Kara couldn't fly too fast with a human in her arms, she wouldn't want to injure Maggie further, but she still seemed to be taking a long time.

Alex was walking her second lap of the command centre to try to ease her anxiety when Winn called out to them again.

"They're twenty seconds away."

Alex breathed a sigh of relief and made her way to the balcony, taking the steps two at a time, but she didn't quite make it to the entrance.

"Alex!"

The next thing Alex knew she was being tackled to the ground at the top of the stairs. Whoever it was that had thrown her to the ground had protected her head, but the rest of her body screamed from the insult as the world grew dark, muddled and silent for a second.

And then chaos erupted.

Glass shattered around her. The body above her moved in closer to shield her face from the sharp shards. Once the glass had all hit the floor, the body above her rolled off, allowing Alex to sit up in time to see a blur of blue and red collide with the big circular table that had been the focal point of the command centre.

The sound was deafening and the whole building seemed to shake from the impact. Agents were shouting, their weapons drawn on instinct. Next to her, J'onn picked himself up off the ground to take the lead.

"Stand down," his orders were clear even through the chaos.

Alex followed his lead and struggled to her feet, still a little dazed.

A crowd had formed around the remains of the table. Alex stumbled down the stairs and across the command centre, pushing herself frantically through the crowd. Dust from the rubble stung her eyes as she took in the mess around her.

Supergirl had missed the open balcony entrance and smashed through the glass above, leaving a gaping hole in the window. Her descent into the command centre had been high, and the plaster was falling from where she had grazed the ceiling and then a support pillar before obliterating the table. Supergirl had come to rest on her back, her eyes closed. On top of her, covered by the red cape, was Maggie, her head was resting on Supergirl's shoulder and her eyes were also closed.

Alex was torn over who to help first as she slowly approached the pair but Kara took the decision away from her as she fought to get herself upright with Maggie still clutched in her arms.

"Supergirl?"

Alex watched helplessly as Kara appeared to sway on her shaky legs. She pitched forward dangerously and J'onn jumped forward to help her stay on her feet, only for Kara to try to hit him with her heat vision. J'onn got out of her way and the weak stream of heat hit the already cracked floor, instantly dispersing the crowd of agents. Kara took the opportunity to escape as the rest of the agents got themselves to safety.

J'onn recovered quickly and only he and Alex followed the superhero, reluctantly keeping their distance to maintain their own safety. Kara slowly made her way up the stairs, each step looked like an effort and Maggie slipped lower in her grip as she got further up the staircase.

Somehow Kara made it to the medical bay without falling and without dropping Maggie. Only once she had placed Maggie down on the bed did Alex dare to approach.

"Please help her," Kara called desperately as she sank to her knees, shaking violently.

Alex led the medical team as they swarmed around Maggie, attaching monitoring equipment and oxygen and then inserting needles as they tried to wake her up and determine what was wrong with her.

J'onn put his arm around Kara and tried to help her to her feet but Kara stayed down, shrugging J'onn away as a couple of tears escaped her eyes and she fought to catch her breath.

"Okay, let's get those bloods run, stat." Alex ordered. "She's stable for now but I need that tox screen ASAP."

Kara collapsed backwards into J'onn's arms, as if all she'd been holding on for was confirmation that Maggie was okay. Her eyes fell shut and she became limp in J'onn's grip.

"Supergirl?" J'onn shouted, shaking Kara urgently.

"What happened?" Alex crouched down next to the pair and placed two fingers on Kara's neck.

"Her eyes rolled back, she just passed out," J'onn told her as he continued to try to wake Kara.

"Get her on the bed," Alex told J'onn as she stood back up.

J'onn effortlessly placed Kara on the bed next to Maggie's and gently brushed the hair from her face before he was pushed out of the way by the medical team.

"We need access to that alien, ASAP. We need to know what he's done to them."


	3. Chapter 3

Alex didn't know what to do.

A team had gone to retrieve the suspect alien from the NCPD and J'onn had left the medical bay to go and meet them.

Part of her wanted to go, to interrogate the alien, to get right in his face and relieve some of her anger, to play bad cop until he crumbled and told her what she needed to know to save Kara and Maggie.

Neither of them had regained consciousness, not even stirred, but they were both breathing on their own, like they were just in some kind of deep sleep. The room was still teeming with medical personnel but Alex felt alone and useless, completely out of her depth to help her loved ones.

She needed her mom.

Alex pulled her gloves off and fumbled in her pocket until she found her phone. She watched the monitors next to both women's beds as she listened to the ringing of her mom's phone down the line until it finally went to voicemail. She tried one more time just in case her mom just hadn't been able to get to her phone in time but she still got her voicemail.

"Mom, it's Alex. Kara's not well, she's had a run in with an alien, well we think it was an alien, and now," Alex paused as her voice cracked. "She's not waking up mom, we need your help. Please call me when you get this." Alex ended the call and frustratedly wiped away the tears teetering on the edges of her eyes.

She let her gaze linger on Kara for a bit longer before she turned to the lead medic.

"I'm going to see if they've got anything from the suspect. Call me if anything changes," she pointed at him threateningly. "Even if you think it's nothing, call me."

She exited the medical bay and let the door slam therapeutically behind her but kept enough control to stop herself from running straight into the interrogation room. Instead she snuck into the dark viewing room. It was empty. On the other side of the one-way glass the alien was handcuffed to the table, with Agent Grant sat directly opposite, J'onn was wandering around the room, watching the conversation intently.

"Where are you from?" Agent Grant was only just getting into the main part of the interrogation. Alex fumed as she realised that J'onn was letting him take the lead on such an important interrogation.

She contemplated storming into the room and asking the questions herself but J'onn must have sensed her through the mirror because he turned to face her and gave her a warning look and shook his head.

Alex folded her arms against her chest and refocused on the alien who had remained silent. He was wearing overly baggy baseball shorts paired with a tight white shirt that was no way near long enough for him and as a result looked like a crop top. He was covered in dark purple scales except that his protruding stomach was soft and fleshy.

He looked scared.

"Fine," Agent Grant relaxed back in his chair. "How about you tell us what you did to Supergirl and the NCPD detective?"

The alien mimicked Agent Grant and leant back into his chair but he looked anything but relaxed. Alex almost felt sorry for him. He was clearly new to Earth, struggling to fit in on an alien planet with weird customs and fashion sense. His eyes were sad and lost, she had seen that same look before, in Kara when she first came to live with her family.

"I am…" the alien stuttered and bowed his head slightly as his purple tongue hung slightly out of his mouth, "Sor-ry," he finished.

Alex sighed, this alien didn't seem to be able to speak much English yet.

On the other side of the glass J'onn had clearly reached the same conclusion and Alex watched as his eyes glowed red and he tried to read the alien's mind.

After a minute he relaxed and tapped Agent Grant on the shoulder.

"I don't think we're going to get anything from him at the moment. Can you organise a cell for him?" he asked before he headed out of the interrogation room.

Alex rushed to meet J'onn in the corridor.

"What did you see?" she asked as soon as she saw him.

"He's definitely an alien and not a metahuman. I think I know where he is from," J'onn placed his hands on his hips and looked up and down the corridor.

"Where?"

"I need to liaise with Winn to be sure, but I think he's from a cluster of planets in the Caber System."

"What else? Do you know anything about what he did to Kara and Maggie?"

"No, I don't know anything about the species that live on the planets, I just saw a lot of planets in the sky in one of his memories, that's why I need to check the database with Winn," J'onn was still glancing around the corridor, not quite looking at Alex, he looked unnerved.

"What aren't you saying?"

"I just don't think I can trust what I saw."

"How do you mean."

"I mean that I think there's some kind of psychic element to him, I felt like he was manipulating what I saw in his mind, especially what happened with the NCPD."

"He looked genuinely scared in there," Alex nodded her head towards the interrogation room door.

"Yeah he did, but something is off about him and he also speaks better English than he is making out."

"So why not interrogate him properly now?"

"He wasn't going to talk and I want to get some more information. If I'm right about what I saw then we might be able to get the information we need to help Kara and Detective Sawyer without his cooperation," J'onn began to walk towards the command centre.

"I could try talking to him if you want," Alex had to walk fast to keep up with J'onn.

"No, not right now."

"But…" Alex started.

"Alex," J'onn stopped in the middle of the corridor. "You are not in the right frame of mind right now."

"But…"

"Please, you need to be with Kara and Maggie, you're the best chance they have against whatever this alien has done to them."

"I need my mom's help. I called her and left a voicemail but she hasn't got back to me yet."

J'onn nodded, "Keep trying, I'll see if Winn can try to locate her as well. But for now, focus on Kara, I can handle the rest."

* * *

Alex clutched at Kara's hand, stroking her soft skin, hoping the gentle motion would somehow awaken her from unconsciousness. For the last hour she had been sat in between both beds in the medical bay, eyes flitting helplessly from Kara to Maggie and then back again. Nothing had changed, both women remained unconscious, but their vitals were all in an acceptable range. They were both now dressed in matching hospital gowns, Maggie was covered with an itchy blue blanket, but Kara had been left uncovered for exposure to the sun lamps, not that they seemed to be helping.

The medical team had done a thorough head to toe examination but hadn't found anything wrong with Kara and apart from a bloody nose and not waking up, there didn't appear to be anything wrong with Maggie either.

Alex stood up abruptly to adjust the neckline of Kara's gown, which had slipped down slightly, and then started to check the settings on the sunlamps and the monitors next to her.

She then moved to Maggie's side and triple checked the monitoring equipment and the infusion running through the cannula in her hand.

Alex flinched as the alarm from the monitor next to Maggie's bed began to beep. The once slow but steady trace from her heart monitor had been replaced by a fast, erratic waveform.

"Maggie?" she called hopefully as she reached out to silence the alarm.

Maggie stirred and she curled up onto her side to face away from Alex, but her eyes stayed shut and her heart rate remained fast and irregular. Alex rushed around to the other side of the bed and crouched down so that her face was level with Maggie's.

"Maggie, open your eyes," she gently brushed the hair off her ex's face. Maggie only responded by pulling the sheet up right under her chin and continued to snuggle into the pillow.

"Maggie, come on, time to wake up," Alex gently shook her shoulder.

Maggie sighed but didn't open her eyes. Alex let her own eyes drift to the monitor. Maggie's heart rate had settled down to a normal, regular rate.

Alex settled into a chair next to Maggie's bed. Maggie looked peaceful, like when they had shared a rare day off together, lazing in bed until noon. Alex let a tear slip down her cheek as she remembered how safe she used to feel in Maggie's arms. At that moment Maggie opened her eyes groggily and sat up before Alex had managed to wipe her tear away and stop her.

"Hey," Alex took Maggie's hand and pushed her back down onto the bed gently.

Maggie relaxed back onto the bed and looked blankly at Alex, there wasn't even a hint of recognition. Fresh tears burned at the edges of Alex's eyes, the pain from the look hurt like a fist to the face, it overwhelmed her. She dug her fingernails into her arm to refocus herself and then rubbed Maggie's arm.

"Have you got any pain?"

Maggie didn't reply, she turned her head away and closed her eyes again.

"Mags?"

Suddenly Maggie sat bolt upright, eyes wide and panicked.

"You're alright," Alex tried to sooth.

Maggie didn't settle, she began to retch and the nurse that had been trying to mind her own business at the desk in the corner ran to her side with a bowl just in time to catch the vomit.

"It's okay, it's best to get it all out," the nurse rubbed Maggie's back until she finished coughing and then wiped her lips and helped her to take some sips of water.

Alex heart broke again as she watched the nurse do a better job of comforting Maggie than she could.

Once Maggie was settled back in the bed, the nurse left them alone again to dispose of the sick. Alex took Maggie's hand again and rubbed her thumb up and down it as Maggie watched the movement.

"We think you were sedated by that alien this afternoon," Alex whispered, watching Maggie's face for any sign of recollection. "You and Supergirl both got hit before he made you disappear to try to create a distraction for him to escape. You ended up all the way out in Greendale, but Kara managed to fly you back here before the sedation finally worked on her. She completely wrecked the command centre in the process and J'onn is secretly fuming, but she got you here, not a scratch on you." Alex knew she was rambling, but Maggie still didn't acknowledge her, her eyes seemingly growing heavy.

"Maggie please, say something," Alex pleaded. "I just want to know that you're okay."

Maggie's eyes shut and she didn't open them again.

* * *

It wasn't until much later, sometime around midnight, that Kara finally began to shake off the alien's sedation. Unlike the relative calmness that accompanied Maggie's return to consciousness, Kara was agitated and fighting, hard. Arms waving, hands clawing out for something, anything, as she screamed and shouted and wailed. The sound was unlike anything Alex had ever heard anyone make.

Alex managed to avoid Kara's flailing arms with relative ease but as she made her way around the bed, one of her sister's legs kicked out and hit her in the chest.

For a second, Alex couldn't breathe. All of the air had been forced out of her lungs and she desperately gasped for a breath. As she struggled to gain her composure, Kara landed another kick, this one to her hip and Alex was sent sprawling across the floor, sliding across the ground until she hit a table. The impact was enough to startle her lungs back into action and she managed a few harsh breaths as she curled into herself on the floor, instinctively trying to protect herself from a further onslaught.

Alex stayed on the floor until her breathing settled and Kara's screams had ebbed into whimpers. After a few failed attempts at pushing up off the ground, Alex successfully got to her feet. Even when she stood up, Alex's legs barely seemed capable of taking her weight, yet alone carrying her back to her sister's side.

The first step she attempted only served to amplify the crushing pain in her chest and she doubled over in agony, the only reason she stayed upright at all was that J'onn had heard the commotion and had come to investigate. J'onn wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and Alex could only concentrate on pulling oxygen into her lungs as J'onn guided her into a plastic chair away from the beds. When she finally managed to open her eyes again, she was confronted by J'onn's concerned face. She looked away and tried to get her bearings in order to find Kara.

Despite all the thrashing, Kara was somehow still on the bed. Even though she was no longer screaming, she was still kicking out, struggling to fight off an invisible foe. Alex tried to get to her feet again but J'onn stopped her gently and went to Kara himself. He placed his strong hands on Kara's shoulders and whispered something into her ear. Whatever it was seemed to calm Kara down because she stopped screaming and her limbs fell limply to her sides.

As Alex's ears adjusted to the silence again, her eyes found Maggie. Her ex-fiancée's eyes were still closed, her breathing was soft and even, suggesting that somehow, she has slept through the chaos.

"J'onn?" Alex called out to her boss, "Is Maggie alright?" she managed to get out before a coughing fit overcame her.

She watched helplessly as J'onn called Maggie's name softly and he touched her arm. Maggie didn't stir and J'onn looked back at Alex before calling Maggie's name a little bit louder, shaking her shoulder. Again, Maggie didn't respond.

Alex found the strength in her shaky legs and made her own way over to Maggie's bedside. J'onn's eyes were glowing red when she finally reached them. Alex waited silently for him to finish his assessment, clutching the bed tightly for some kind of support.

"She's dreaming, she's okay," J'onn reassured and took hold of Alex again.

"And Kara?"

"You know I can't use my psychic powers on her," J'onn sighed.

"What did you say to her?"

"I just told her she was only dreaming," J'onn told her as he led her to a more comfortable chair.

"Can I have a look at your injuries?"

Alex nodded hesitantly and then lifted her shirt to reveal her chest, a dark red mark covered the whole of her left side and J'onn couldn't hold in his gasp.

"I think your ribs might be broken."

Alex could only nod, it did feel like Kara could have broken her ribs.

"Let me go and find the doctor."

"No, don't. I'll be fine, there's nothing they can do to treat broken ribs anyway."

"Alex, please," his voice was soft and Alex didn't have the strength to argue further so she let him leave to find help.

Two minutes later she let the medical team poke and prod her, she let them do an x-ray and some pain medication. Throughout the whole ordeal her eyes barely left the sleeping forms of Kara and Maggie.

"You're lucky Agent Danvers. Nothing is broken, just very bruised. You're going to be sore for a while."

"Thank you," Alex mumbled without looking at him and the doctor took the hint to leave. J'onn followed the doctor out into the corridor and Alex watched them talking though the window until J'onn turned to look at her. She turned away and slowly made her way to sit back between the two beds, sitting closer to Maggie, out of the reaches of Kara's limbs.


	4. Chapter 4

A mixture of the pain medications that had been forced upon her and the general lack of sleep had left Alex dozing in the uncomfortable chair between Kara and Maggie. Every so often Maggie would shift slightly in her sleep but otherwise the pair were settled and Alex easily slipped back to sleep.

She woke up feeling dazed. Nearby she could hear whispered voices but she was reluctant to open her eyes. She was almost drifting back to sleep when she was startled by one of the monitors alarming. By the time she had struggled to her feet, the offending noise had silenced itself and a quick glance at both women's vitals suggested they were both still stable. As soon as she realised there was no danger, she began to really feel the pain that moving had caused and she sat back down, clutching her side to try to support her ribs, face screwed up in pain.

"Take it easy Alex." She was quickly surrounded by both Eliza and J'onn.

"Mom?"

"I'm here Sweetie."

"What time is it? When did you get here?"

"It's a little after 3am, I've been here about an hour."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"J'onn's filled me in. I've been going through the charts and I've looked at their blood myself, I'm up to speed."

"I couldn't see anything in their blood tests, no trace of any sedatives."

"I couldn't either. I've got one of the techs testing Supergirl's uniform and Maggie's clothes for any trace evidence. I was just about to take some swabs and then attach some EEG monitoring."

Alex nodded and stood up again to get out of her mother's way. J'onn stepped closer to help but she waved him away.

"I'm fine," she reassured him as she winced slightly.

As Eliza gently swabbed selected areas of their skin, Alex untangled the EEG wires and then placed the electrodes on both Kara and Maggie's heads.

Alex sat back down and studied the brain waves produced. J'onn caught her frowning and came to stand next to her and squinted at the waveforms on the screen.

"What are you seeing?" J'onn asked, catching Eliza's attention.

"Delta waves," Alex shrugged as Eliza joined the pair watching the screen.

"So?"

"They are in deep sleep," Alex mumbled, not looking away from the data.

"Is it helpful?"

"Not really," Alex told him sullenly.

"Well it does narrow down the type of thing they could have been exposed to," Eliza told J'onn a bit more hopefully as she stroked her daughter's hair.

"I'm going to run these swabs in the lab," Eliza announced as Alex eventually jerked away from her mother's touch.

"I'll come and help you," Alex moved to stand up.

"Alex," Eliza sighed and placed her hand on Alex's shoulder to keep her in her seat. "Try to rest, I'll let you know when I have any useful results."

* * *

Over the next day Kara and Maggie woke up numerous times, only to be dragged back into their respective dreamworlds. Alex stayed with them, barely leaving her position in between their beds. Even when her sister wasn't screaming, Kara was restless, constantly at risk of falling completely out of the bed, but never quite managing it. In the next bed, Maggie was quietly somewhere between awake and asleep, immune to the chaos that Kara's intermittent returns to reality were creating.

Every time Maggie woke up she was silent. Her eyes never quite seemed to be able to focus on the real world and she looked sad and lost.

At one-point Alex prayed for it to stop, unable to tolerate the constant screaming and worry any longer. After that, Kara seemed to settle slightly and the screams turn to whimpers, maybe she was finally getting better, or maybe she'd worn her voice out.

* * *

Kara woke up terrified but not alone.

She was never alone.

There was always someone hovering at the edge of her purple tinted vision, scared to get close to her. If it wasn't Alex quietly watching over her then it was J'onn or Eliza.

There was movement in the next bed and Kara watched Maggie sit up suddenly despite Alex's attempts to lie her back down. Sometimes when Kara had woken up she hadn't been able to see Maggie in the next bed but she could always sense her. Her heartbeat had become as familiar as Alex's over the last few days. No one visited Maggie, owing to the fact that the DEO didn't really exist, but Alex was there, hand on the edge of the bed, not quite touching Maggie's own hand. In amongst the nightmares that she couldn't quite remember, Kara had strained to hear Alex's one-sided conversations until, finally, Alex coaxed Maggie into talking.

"Kara?"

It was only one whispered word but it seemed to reverberate around the room forever. When the non-existent echo finally stopped rattling around Kara's head, a sense of calm settled over her. Tiredness won out over fear and she slept properly for the first time since the purple had arrived.

When Kara woke up again, the purple hue was gone and so was Maggie's heartbeat.

"Maggie?" she whispered.

"Alex took her home, sweetie." Eliza's soft voice added to the calmness that Kara was already feeling.

"What happened?" Kara asked, finally daring to meet Eliza's eyes.

"What do you remember?" Eliza tried to coax her into a conversation, but Kara could only manage one more word.

"Purple."

Kara tried to listen as Eliza explained but she couldn't fully comprehend what she was saying.

"Is Maggie okay?" Kara managed after Eliza finished her explanation.

"She's alright, she didn't sleep as long as you did. The sedative left her system a lot faster than it did yours," Eliza squeezed her hand.

Kara nodded, "Can I see her?"

"Maybe tomorrow," Eliza tried to straighten the blanket over her daughter, but Kara sat up and pushed it off, causing Eliza to flinch away slightly.

Eliza recovered herself well, but it was too late, Kara had seen the fear that had flitted across her features. Her foster mother seemed scared of her.

"When can I go home?"

Eliza sighed, "Shall we see how you are in a few hours?"

Kara nodded, feeling tired again.

* * *

"You don't have to do this, I'd have been fine in a cab," Maggie smiled weakly as Alex opened the passenger door of her DEO SUV for her.

"I know," Alex smiled back as she indicated for Maggie to get in the car despite of this, "But I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to nosy around your new apartment."

Maggie struggled to pull herself up into the car and Alex placed a supportive hand on her back.

"Thanks," Maggie whispered as she made it safely into the car and smiled before gently shutting the door and making her way round the front of the vehicle to the driver's seat, anxiously brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and smiling again as she caught Maggie's eye through the window.

"So, where am I going?" Alex asked as she slipped the car into 1st gear and headed for the exit to the parking garage.

"Maggie?" she asked a little louder when she didn't get a response.

"Sorry, what?" Maggie shifted in her seat.

"Your new place, what's the address?"

"Sorry, it's 709 Halston Street, its around the back of that big Walmart near my precinct."

"Oh, yeah, I know it," Alex mused as she opened her window to swipe her key fob to exit the garage.

Maggie didn't seem up for small talk and so Alex let an unexpectedly comfortable silence fall over the car as she drove across the city. Whilst she waited at a red light she glanced over at her ex-fiancée. Maggie's elbow was resting against the window and her head was resting on her hand, her eyes were closed and she appeared to be asleep.

"Mags?"

The light turned green and Alex pulled off the main road onto Maggie's block.

"Maggie?"

"Huh?" Maggie mumbled but didn't open her eyes.

"We're here," Alex told her as she smoothly pulled over into a parking space.

Maggie cracked an eye open and sat up slightly as Alex hopped out of the car and around to the passenger door.

"Come on sleepyhead," Alex tried to sound calm as she released Maggie's seat belt for her.

Maggie stiffly swung her legs out of the door and Alex gently helped her down onto the sidewalk.

"What's the code for the front door?" Alex realised Maggie wasn't going to be able to input it for herself.

"2745."

Alex punched in the code and pulled the heavy door, holding it until Maggie had slowly made her way safely into the foyer and then she grabbed her arm and supported her to the elevator.

The apartment block looked okay, not too grim, but not exactly the most inspiring place to live. Neither woman spoke until the elevator arrived.

"Which floor?" Alex asked as Maggie didn't make an attempt to push any of the buttons.

"Six," Maggie mumbled

"And do you know where your front door keys are?"

"Jacket," Maggie replied monotonously.

Alex rummaged in the bag of Maggie's property that the medics had removed in the medical bay until she found her jacket and retrieved the keys just as the elevator dinged, announcing their arrival on the sixth floor.

"You're going to have to lead the way," Alex prompted when Maggie didn't move.

Maggie looked up reluctantly and then trudged out of the elevator and towards her apartment, which unfortunately was furthest from the elevator. Alex linked her arm after a few slow steps to help speed her up.

"I'm sorry," Maggie whispered as she used Alex to support herself.

"You don't need to apologise," Alex reassured as they finally reached the door.

Still supporting Maggie with one arm, Alex reached out to unlock Maggie's front door and then helped her inside.

"You don't need to stay," Maggie whispered as Alex helped her sit on her couch.

"I know, but I want to make sure you get something to eat and make it into bed safely tonight. And like I said, I want to have a nosy around this place," Alex smiled.

* * *

Eliza was still awake, sipping coffee and watching the news on silent, when Alex finally got to Kara's apartment.

"Is Kara okay?"

"She's settled for now."

"And are there any new results from the lab?"

"Nothing noteworthy," Eliza sighed.

Alex nodded and grabbed herself a bottle of water from the fridge, wincing slightly as pain shot through her rib cage.

"Have you taken your pain killers?"

"Yeah, I just keep forgetting about my ribs, it doesn't hurt until I reach out," Alex smiled falsely.

"There's some soup if you're hungry," Eliza offered.

"No thanks, not right now."

"Have you eaten today?"

Alex nodded, it wasn't a complete lie, she had picked at a cold piece of toast at Maggie's apartment after she had ensured that Maggie had eaten and had got to bed safely.

"How's Maggie?"

"I'm not sure," Alex sat next to her mother. "She seems withdrawn, but I don't know if that's because of what happened or because of, you know, us." Alex shrugged and took a sip of water.

"Did she tell you what she dreamt about?"

"No, she doesn't think she did dream," Alex began fiddling with one of Kara's cushions. "She remembers the standoff, Supergirl arriving, a bright purple light and then waking up at the DEO this morning."

"She can't remember any of the times she woke up over the last few days?"

"No," Alex grimaced as she moved the wrong way, putting strain on her sore ribs.

Eliza put her hand on Alex's knee just as there was a loud bang from Kara's bedroom. By the time they'd jumped to their feet, a flash of blue and red was flying out of the window.

"Kara!" Both women yelled, almost screamed, but Kara was long gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Maggie's apartment was quiet as Alex crept through the unfamiliar space.

"Kara?" she whispered into the darkness.

She fumbled with her phone and squinted against the harsh light from the screen. Supergirl's tracker was still showing at the apartment building.

"Kara?" Alex whispered again.

Receiving no response, Alex continued to Maggie's bedroom and peered through the door.

Maggie was right where she had left her a couple of hours ago, curled up on the right side of the bed, facing away from the door. Supergirl was cuddled next to her, lying on top of the bed sheets, her red cape covering Maggie completely.

Alex stood frozen, clutching the door handle as she tried to comprehend the situation. Both women were breathing gently, clearly sound asleep and so Alex sighed and shut the door gently. She made her way to Maggie's living area. It was freezing, Kara hadn't shut Maggie's window on her way in. Alex struggled through the pain in her ribs to pull the window shut and then eased herself down on the couch. She sent a quick text to Eliza to let her know that she had found Kara and then relaxed back onto the couch, allowing herself to doze and then finally fall asleep properly for the first time in days.

* * *

Alex woke up to screaming. Loud and high-pitched, the kind of screaming that would result in even the most negligent of neighbours calling the police.

Alex nearly wrenched the bedroom door off its hinges in her attempt to get through and find out what the hell was going on. Maggie was still curled up under her covers with Supergirl's cape covering her, seemingly deaf to the noise coming from Kara next to her.

Kara herself didn't appear to have moved either.

Risking further injury, Alex decided that she had to wake Kara up, if only to prevent the NCPD barrelling through the apartment, guns drawn, ready to protect one of their own.

"Kara?" she called over the screams from the foot of the bed.

"Kara, everything is okay."

Kara shook her head violently, blonde hair flying everywhere, but she didn't stop wailing.

"You're only dreaming," Alex tried to sooth.

"Kara, you'll wake Maggie up," Alex chanced gently stroking Kara's arm.

Kara fell silent and adjusted her arm so that it was across Maggie but didn't open her eyes.

Alex sighed as Kara began to mumble incomprehensibly.

She had seen Kara like this before. When she first arrived on the planet she would have nightmares, screaming in her sleep was an almost daily occurrence for the first month. As Kara had settled on Earth, the night-time terrors had become few and far between, only really occurring after a particularly stressful day or on an important date. Once they had really become sisters, Kara would seek Alex out for comfort on these rare occasions, clinging to her in her sleep. Alex had never been able to sleep through Kara's middle of the night visits though, unlike Maggie now.

Alex slowly made her way to Maggie and gently placed two fingers to her neck. Maggie's pulse was slow but strong.

"Maggie?" she tried half-heartedly, she didn't really expect Maggie to wake up after the screaming she had just slept through.

Unsurprisingly, Maggie didn't stir and Alex felt her heart sink as memories of lying next to Maggie flashed through her mind. Maggie had always been a light sleeper, just like Alex she couldn't turn off the cop part of her brain. Both Maggie and Kara were still clearly under the residual effect of the alien's sedative, even though Eliza and Alex had been unable to detect anything in their blood.

Alex reluctantly retreated back into Maggie's living room, she suddenly felt uncomfortable, like she was invading Maggie's personal space. It was only 4 o'clock and it was too early to call her mom to discuss the night's events. She was too wired to sleep so she made herself a coffee, cleaned out the decomposing food from Maggie's fridge and then settled back on the couch and flicked mindlessly through the channels until she found a random documentary to try to distract her until the women woke up.

* * *

It was her phone screaming, rather than her sister, that woke Alex from her troubled dreams once the sun had risen. She groaned as she struggled to find her phone as she teetered precariously on the edge of Maggie's couch. By the time she grasped the phone it had stopped ringing. The missed call was from a withheld number and Alex waited for it to start to ring again but it didn't.

She rolled off the couch and struggled to her feet, stiff from the awkward position she had ended up falling asleep in, and made her way to Maggie's bedroom, hovering uncertainly in the doorway.

Maggie was still curled up on her side, Kara was now burrowed into her shoulder.

"I tried to move but she held on tighter," Maggie called to Alex.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked as she moved towards the bed.

"I really need to pee," Maggie tried to laugh.

"Kara?" Alex tried to rouse Kara from her sleep.

"Kara?" she shouted as she pried her sleeping sister's arm from around Maggie just enough for Maggie to wriggle out.

Kara sighed but didn't open her eyes as she tried to snuggle back into the void left by Maggie's departure. Alex tried to shake Kara awake but when she didn't succeed she placed a pillow in Kara's arms instead.

"I'm sorry about this," Alex apologised as she turned back to look at Maggie but her ex had already left the room.

Alex headed to the kitchen and put the kettle on for Maggie and then hovered anxiously at the counter, waiting for Maggie to reappear.

"You look better this morning," Alex smiled nervously as Maggie emerged from her bathroom, "How are you feeling?"

"Groggy," Maggie returned the smile and then pulled out a couple of mugs from her cupboard. "And hot, your sister is burning up. Are you sure she should be out of the DEO?"

"Actually, I don't think you should be either," Alex frowned.

"Why? You said my blood tests were fine," Maggie turned to look at Alex properly for the first time since they had been reunited.

"Well…um…" Alex stuttered under Maggie's stare. "Both of you are clearly still being affected by the alien sedation."

"How do you mean?"

"Last night Kara was having a nightmare. She was screaming and you didn't wake up, you didn't even stir."

Maggie frowned but didn't respond as she reached into her fridge for the milk for her coffee.

"Do you still take your coffee black?"

Alex nodded in reply and watched Maggie pour the milk into her own mug.

"I think we need to run more tests on both of you."

Maggie remained silent as she stirred her coffee, maybe for a little bit too long.

"I feel better though," Maggie finally offered as she handed Alex her coffee and then moved to sit on the couch.

"I know, but I really think we need to be sure," Alex followed Maggie but stood awkwardly next to the TV. "Look at Kara. She got hit with the same thing as you and she's definitely not okay."

Maggie nodded.

"I'm going to get J'onn to take Kara to the DEO, there's no way I can get her there by myself, but I want you to come in as well."

"I told you, I feel better."

"Please just let my mom check you over, just to be sure." Alex pleaded.

Maggie took a long sip from her mug but avoided Alex's desperate eyes.

"Do you know where my phone is?"

"Mags, please?" Alex took a step towards her.

"I'll come to the DEO, I just need to make some calls first," Maggie sighed.

"Good." Alex walked to the dresser next to Maggie's front door and picked up a plastic bag. "This is everything you had on you when Supergirl flew you to the DEO." Alex handed Maggie the bag.

"Thanks."

"I'm going to call my mom and then J'onn," Alex waved her own cell phone and headed to the front door, wanting to give Maggie some space, even if she couldn't remove the Kryptonian that had taken over Maggie's bed.

"Hey, Alex?" Maggie called to her.

"Yeah?" Alex swung around quickly.

"Thanks for the last few days, for staying with me at the DEO and for bringing me home yesterday."

Alex nodded, too overwhelmed to respond properly, and then headed out of the apartment.


	6. Chapter 6

Maggie felt stiff and irritated by the bright light and various sounds in the medical bay as she reluctantly allowed Eliza to examine her.

Eliza smiled reassuringly as she assessed the veins on both of Maggie's arms. Maggie glanced hesitantly around the medical bay from the examination chair she was sat on. Kara was asleep under the sun lamps, hovering about a centimetre above the bed. Next to her, Alex had a strong grip on her sister's hand but her tired eyes were watching Maggie across the room. J'onn was quietly talking on his cell phone in the far corner of the bay but his gaze was fixed on Alex and Kara.

"I'm going to use this arm," Eliza told her softly, tapping a vein on the inside of the elbow on Maggie's left arm.

Maggie nodded and let Eliza clean her arm as she closed her eyes and relaxed back into the chair, not willing to actually witness the procedure.

Eliza was gentle but Maggie still found herself unable to stop a gasp of pain from escaping her lips. Within a second of the needle puncturing Maggie's skin, a gust of wind swept through the medical bay. Someone was shouting and Maggie opened her eyes in time to witness Eliza being pushed to the floor in a flash of red and blue. Maggie tried to sit up properly but she was pushed back almost painfully into the chair by strong arms before her view was completely obliterated by Supergirl's cape.

"Kara wake up!" Alex shouted.

Maggie tried again to get up and out of the way, but Kara was in her path, solid and immovable.

"Kara, it's okay, Maggie is okay," Eliza sounded like she was still on the floor to Maggie's left.

"Kara?" Maggie found that her voice was strained, in fact it didn't really sound like her own. "I'm alright Kara," Maggie reached out to try to take Kara's arm but as she did she heard Kara's breath hitch and the superhero tensed up.

Kara spun around, her cape dramatically following her movement. Maggie looked up and met the girl's confused blue gaze. Tears appeared in Kara's eyes and she stood frozen in place, seemingly trying to make sense of the situation she had woken up in.

Behind Kara, J'onn and Alex helped Eliza to her feet and Maggie's eyes left Kara's to watch them. Kara slowly followed Maggie's gaze to the trio, her face falling as she took in the sight of J'onn supporting Eliza.

"Eliza, did I…?"

"I'm fine Kara," Eliza reassured and took a step towards her daughter, shaking off J'onn's supportive arm.

Kara let Eliza slip her arm around her and pull her into a hug as she turned back to Maggie who was still sat in the exam chair.

"What happened to your arm?" Kara frowned.

Maggie looked as confused as Kara did and stared down at her arm. Blood was slowly flowing in a thin line from the hole that the needle had created. Alex grabbed some gauze off the tray Eliza had been using and held it to Maggie's arm.

"Mom was just taking a blood sample from Maggie," Alex explained as she wiped the trail of blood from Maggie's arm with another piece of gauze.

"Why?" Kara frowned and reached out to Maggie's arm.

"Just a check-up," Eliza pulled Kara closer to her, "Maybe you should sit down so I can carry on." Eliza guided Kara back to her sunbed flanked by J'onn.

Alex placed a small circular plaster over the needle mark in Maggie's arm and smoothed it gently down.

"Are you okay to continue?" Alex whispered.

Maggie nodded as Eliza arrived back at her side.

"Alex can you set up a new tray while I wash my hands?" Eliza asked.

Maggie's eyes anxiously followed Eliza around the room, lingering slightly on Kara who was watching from the bed with J'onn perched next to her.

A minute later Eliza was reapplying the tourniquet to the opposite arm. Maggie managed to hold in her gasp this time but visibly winced as the needle pierced her skin and numerous blood vials were filled with her blood. She turned her head away towards Kara and could see J'onn physically holding the young woman back. Maggie closed her eyes and let her head fall back so it was resting on the back of the chair. When she opened her eyes again, Kara was leaning into J'onn's arms and Eliza was pressing some gauze to the crook of her elbow where the needle had been moments ago.

"Are you okay to wait until we get the results?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah," Maggie nodded as Eliza removed the gauze and applied a plaster.

"It shouldn't be too long," Eliza smiled.

Maggie nodded and returned the smile before leaning back in the chair, suddenly feeling tired again.

* * *

Maggie woke up on the bed next to Kara's sunbed. Someone had covered her with a blanket. The bay was silent except for the gentle hum of the sun lamps. Maggie sat up slowly. Kara was curled up facing Maggie's bed, breathing gently, seemingly in deep sleep.

For a minute Maggie thought that they were alone in the medical bay but as she tried to swing her legs off the side of the bed she noticed that Alex, Eliza and J'onn were all huddled at a computer in the far corner of the room.

J'onn noticed she was awake first and nudged Alex to gain her attention.

"Hey," Alex smiled as she strode across the medical bay.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep," Maggie felt heat creep up her cheeks.

"It's not a problem, how are you feeling?" Alex stood awkwardly at the end of the bed.

"I'm fine, I just feel tired," Maggie's gaze slipped back to Kara.

"Your bloods all looked okay," Alex told her softly.

"So, you don't know why I can sleep through Kara's screaming?"

"No, not yet."

"Can I go home then?" Maggie stood up resolutely and turned back to Alex to see that Eliza and J'onn had joined her at the end of the bed.

"Erm, actually," Alex stuttered. "We were hoping you might let us do some more tests."

Maggie looked at Eliza and J'onn before her eyes settled on Kara's sleeping form again.

"What kind of tests?" Maggie almost whispered, grasping the edge of the bed for support as she felt panic rising from her chest.

"We were hoping you would let us do another EEG to look at what's happening to your brainwaves when you fall asleep and compare it to Kara's."

Maggie nodded slightly.

"Also, we would like to do a lumbar puncture."

"No," Maggie took a step sideways away from the two women and the Martian. She felt overwhelmed. The room suddenly smelt like a real hospital, an overpowering mix of antiseptic and illness filled her nostrils and she felt herself swaying involuntarily.

"Maggie, please?"

"Absolutely not, no," she stopped backing away and instead turned and fled to the door.

A firm hand held Alex back as she tried to follow. J'onn shook his head.

"She's scared and conflicted, I think she needs a few minutes."

Alex sagged and turned back to her unconscious sister.

"What are the other options?" J'onn asked Eliza, watching as Alex took Kara's hand and clasped it firmly.

"We do the lumbar puncture on Kara," Eliza moved closer to her daughter. "We could use red sun emitters. It'd be a similar procedure to in humans, the anatomy isn't too different."

"Except that we have local anaesthetics that work on humans to help with the pain," Alex interrupted loudly. "And we have never gathered samples of Kryptonian CSF, something that looks unfamiliar could be perfectly normal, whereas if we looked at Maggie's we would be able to recognise an alien contaminant. And because neither of us have ever done an LP on a Kryptonian, we don't actually know we can."

"I know sweetie," Eliza put her hand on Alex's shoulder, "But think about what you are asking Maggie to do. There are risks for her too, while an LP is a fairly routine procedure there can be complications and it won't be a pleasant experience."

"I thought she loved me. She said she'd always love me."

Eliza gave Alex a sad smile before busying herself at the computer.

Alex wiped a tear from her cheek and sniffed. She tightened her grip on Kara's hand as she watched as J'onn retreated back to the window to watch the agents passing through the corridors.

Silence fell over the room, only broken by the occasional whimper from Kara on the bed.

Alex let her mind wander, remembering all the other times she had watched over Kara under the sunlamps. Only last week Kara had spent 24 hours sleeping off a particularly nasty and lengthy fight with a cyborg under the artificial lights only to land right back in the med bay in quarantine from exposure to an unknown gas from a crashed spacecraft she had been sent to investigate. Alex worried that being Supergirl was becoming more dangerous for her little sister and now she had spent the whole of her weekend asleep after being sucked into some kind of portal she was also worried that it would really start impinging on what little life she had as 'Kara Danvers'. Right now James was covering for her at CatCo but even with her best friend as her boss, there was only so much time she could take off without jeopardising her career.

There was a knock at the med bay door. Both Eliza and J'onn turned to see Maggie at the door.

"Eliza?"

On hearing Maggie's voice Alex jumped to her feet.

"Can I talk to you in private please?" Maggie's request was barely audible over the thudding of Alex's heart in her own ears.

"Yes, of course," Eliza headed over to her, "We'll go to J'onn's office."

* * *

Kara was screaming again. Alex stopped her anxious pacing of the medical bay and rushed to her sister's side and gently ran her hand up and down Kara's arm.

J'onn was stood with his arms crossed at the end of the bed, face furrowed in concern. He felt helpless.

Neither Alex and J'onn noticed Eliza and Maggie re-enter the medical bay until Eliza spoke.

"How long has she been like this?"

"About five minutes," J'onn informed her as Alex looked desperately at her mom and then at Maggie.

"Oh Kara," Eliza brushed the hair from Kara's sweat covered forehead and then turned to Maggie.

"Let me find you a gown Maggie, we won't start until she's calmed down though," Eliza smiled and then went to the linen cupboard.

Alex smiled at Maggie, who was stood awkwardly near the doorway. Maggie folded her arms across her chest protectively and stayed silent until Eliza returned.

"You can change in the bathroom," Eliza smiled as she handed Maggie the hospital gown.

Maggie hesitated slightly, but Kara let out another terrified scream and she flinched and accepted the gown from Eliza and headed to the bathroom to change.

* * *

It hadn't hurt as much as Maggie had expected it to, although she had a slight headache which was only being amplified by Kara, who had started to scream again. Unfortunately, Alex and Eliza had left to start analysing her samples and she was under strict instructions from Alex to stay lying flat for an hour after they had finished the procedure so there was nothing she could do to help the superhero.

"Kara?" Maggie called, unable to stand the noise anymore.

"Kara!" she shouted again in frustration.

The screaming stopped, and Kara sat bolt upright, hyperventilating as her eyes darted around the medical bay.

Kara's heavy breathing resolved and an uncomfortable silence fell between them, it was worse than the screaming Maggie decided as she watched the superhero. Kara looked stoned. Her eyes were dark and dull, the whites of her eyes were pink and she seemed to be constantly fighting to keep them open.

"Do you remember the dreams when you wake up?" Maggie asked, turning on her side to look at Kara properly.

Kara stared at her blankly for a minute.

"Not really," Kara eventually whispered, lying back on the bed.

"Can you tell me what you remember?" Maggie adjusted her pillow under the crook of her shoulder.

Maggie waited patiently for Kara to answer.

"It always ends the same," Kara started as she stared at the ceiling. "We're both falling, I get a horrible feeling in my stomach and then you hit the ground and you're not moving. Everything is purple and even when I wake up it takes a while for everything to turn back to its normal colour."

"I get that too you know?" Maggie admitted quietly.

"You do?" Kara rolled onto her side to look at Maggie, her eyes looked brighter, more focused.

"Not the dreams or the falling, but when I wake up, everything has this strange purple hue, it's really weird," Maggie tried to laugh.

"I really liked the colour purple," Kara sighed dramatically, "But now… I'm going to have to return the purple dress I bought last week."

"Have you spoken to your sister about what is happening?"

Kara shook her head and pulled her cape over herself protectively and snuggled into the bed.

"What about Eliza?"

"No," Kara shook her head again. "Eliza would just worry and Alex… well she'd worry too, but I think she's upset with me."

"What makes you think that?" Maggie prompted but she could already sense Kara shutting herself off again.

"It's because I brought you to the DEO," Kara whispered to Maggie's surprise. "She wasn't ready to see you again."


End file.
